BA (Hons) Early Childhood Studies and Sociology course preparation
To help you feel prepared for your university studies, we’ve gathered together a range of course related activities including suggested reading, useful websites and some great things to do right now. Open the links below to find out more:
Suggested reading
You’ll be given far more information about which textbooks to read and introduced to the University Library, as well as the many ebooks we have for you to access, when you begin your studies in September.
In the meantime, please find a list of textbooks below which will help you to prepare for your Year One modules:
- Maynard, T and Powell, S (eds) (2013) An Introduction to Early Childhood Studies (3rd ed.) London: Sage
- Penn, H (2005) Unequal Childhoods: Young Children’s Lives in Poor Countries. London: Routledge
- Penn, H (2011) Understanding Early Childhood Issues and Controversies. Maidenhead: Open University Press
For Sociology, the following books are recommended:
- Bauman, Z and May, T (2019) Thinking Sociologically (2nd) London: Blackwell
- Fulcher, J and Scott, J (2011) Sociology (4th) Oxford: Oxford University Press
- C. Wright Mills (1959) The Sociological Imagination. New York: Oxford University Press.
- Richard Sennett (2012) Together: The rituals, pleasures, and politics of cooperation. Yale University Press.
Detailed and updated reading lists are included in the module handbooks, which are provided in the first session of each module.
Useful websites
You can see some of our cutting-edge research pertinent to your degree at the following links:
- Children and Young People Research Network
- Migration Working Group – North West (MWG-NW)
- Centre for Child Protection and Safeguarding in Sport (CPSS)
- Edge Hill Social Sciences Research information
Things to do now
We don’t recommend too much preparation before arrival – you’ll have enough to do when you arrive.
However, you might want to think about how you’ll prepare for study. This might involve clearing a space for study if you intend to study from your home or thinking about how you’ll manage your time in relation to caring, social and work obligations when you arrive to begin the programme.
You can also do some general reading on the theme of early childhood. Some good introductory texts would be:
- Kehily, M.J. (ed) (2008) Introduction to Childhood Studies. Maidenhead: Open University Press
- Maynard, T and Powell, S (eds) (2013) An Introduction to Early Childhood Studies. 3rd
You could also:
- Keep up-to-date with the Guardian Society pages
- Regularly read news stories on Children and Young People Now
- Read this report from the Migration Policy Institute on the growing levels of migration and border controversies
- Read this report from UNICEF. This is an important survey of infant mortality around the world, highlighting how much more needs to be done to tackle the problem — especially in parts of the developing world. Encouragingly, it also describes how many of these deaths can and have been prevented with the right policies in place.
- Read this article by John Woodrow Cox, Washington Post enterprise reporter. In it, he tells the stories of six children who’ve experienced gun violence around the United States. He spent hours with the children, reporting the impact on their lives through a number of interviews over several months.
Additional ways to prepare
Preparing to start
This session examines how to make a successful transition to university. From planning your results day, accommodation and commuting tips, extra support available to you and general advice on uni life.
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Find out more about who you are
The following information provides an insight into what to expect when coming to university along with some good advice on how to navigate some of the potential challenges you may face.
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